Blue Origin's NS-38 Mission to Carry Six Tourists on Suborbital Flight, Jan. 22 Launch

Blue Origin is set to launch its 38th New Shepard mission on Jan. 22, carrying six passengers to suborbital space from West Texas. Of the 37 prior New Shepard flights, 16 have been crewed, demonstrating the system's reusability and operational maturity. The flight will last approximately 10-12 minutes, including 3-4 minutes of microgravity.

A last-minute crew adjustment replaced Andrew Yaffe with Stiles due to illness, though the specific reasons for this change remain unexplained by company officials.

Virgin Galactic's suborbital space tourism program, which charges $600,000 per seat, represents a direct competitor in the commercial spaceflight sector. Both companies employ distinct technical approaches to suborbital travel, though comparative performance metrics remain unpublished.

The New Shepard system's vertical takeoff and landing capability has enabled multiple flight cycles for the same booster hardware.

This mission will add to the growing dataset on human physiological responses to brief suborbital exposure, though long-term health effects remain under study by independent research institutions.